News and Notes

A Newsletter for Faculty and Staff of Idaho State University

January 31, 2011 — Vol. 27 No. 5

Faculty/Staff Updates

Congratulations to Shanna Neeser for winning the 2010 Fall Semester customer service award

Congratulations to Shanna Neeser, executive Assistant for the athletic department, for winning the 2010 Fall Semester customer service award. All employees who were nominated for great customer service during the semester, either through the online or paper surveys, were entered in a drawing to win. Shanna received a traveling plaque with her name and department on it and a check for $100.

December 2010 ISU Cares "Spot" Award Winners

Lindsay Allen, College of Technology

Wes Lewis, Distance Learning, Meridian

Ben Harker, Facilities

Jackie Stokes, CSED

Paula Mandeville, College of Education

Weston Whitworth, Finance and Administration

Each winner received a certificate and a $15 Visa Card for delivering excellent customer service in their area. Check out the ISU Cares website for pictures, short biographies of all of our winners, and a link to the ISU Cares online survey.

News Bites

A new dental clinic that will serve low-income patients in the Treasure Valley will open in August 20ll

A new dental clinic that will serve low-income patients in the Treasure Valley and provide advanced training for licensed dentists is scheduled to open in August 20ll at the Idaho State University-Meridian Health Science Center, thanks to a $500,000 gift from Delta Dental Community Outreach and funding from the 2010 Idaho Legislature.

"The opportunity to partner with ISU and its Advanced Dental Residency program is a natural fit for Delta Dental," said Jean De Luca, president and chief executive officer of Delta Dental of Idaho.

She presented ISU President Arthur C. Vailas with a $300,000 check Jan. 27-the first installment of the Delta Dental gift.

"As a nonprofit with 40 years in this community, we are deeply committed to improving access to oral health for Idahoans and helping educate the next generation of Idaho dentists," she said.

"On behalf of ISU and the dental residency program, I thank you," Vailas said. "This new clinic will further our mission to improve oral health care for all Idahoans-particularly for uninsured and underserved adults and children."

Construction of the $1.5 million clinic, designed by Hummel Architects of Boise, began Jan. 24. The 5,200-square-foot facility will have 12 clinical treatment rooms, an X-ray and sterilization lab, faculty offices, a waiting room and reception area.

In addition to the Delta Dental gift, the 2010 Idaho Legislature awarded ISU $1 million for clinic construction.

In 2005, ISU expanded its advanced dental residency program to the Treasure Valley, admitting four licensed dentists each year to complete an intense 12-month training program in advanced dentistry techniques and procedures.

ISU's current facility-ISU Family Dentistry-located at 2033 E. Summersweet Drive in east Boise will close when the new clinic opens.

Jeff Meldrum participated in the production of a two-hour documentary for joint airing on the History Channel and Discovery Canada

Jeff Meldrum, an associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University, and author of the book, "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science," participated in the production of a two-hour documentary produced by Dangerous Films of London for joint airing on the History Channel and Discovery Canada.

The documentary is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 on the History Channel.

Science is increasingly recognizing that past Homo sapiens shared the planet with other upright walking primates. As recently as 20,000 years ago there were four or more other species of Homo coexisting across Asia, plus a number of species of large apes, according to participating panel members. Could the survival of some of these into the present have spawned the stories of the yeti, the sasquatch, and the orang pendek?

Last October, Meldrum met in Montreal with four other accomplished scholars for a roundtable discussion of this very possibility. The theme was relic man-like creatures around the globe.

Meldrum was joined by Jack Rink, geochemist, McMaster University, who has dated numerous hominid sites, including cave deposits bearing Gigantopithecus fossils; Anna Nekaris, primatologist, Oxford Brookes University, who specializes in nocturnal southeast Asian primates; William Sellars, computational zoologist, University of Manchester, who models primate locomotion and the evolution of bipedalism; and Ian Redmond, tropical biologist and conservationist, best known for his work with the mountain gorillas.

The panel of five considered the pervasive and persistent reports of unrecognized man-like creatures from remote forested corners of the globe and weighed the evidence for their existence.

"It was personally gratifying to hear my colleagues objectively evaluate the footprints, hair samples and sightings as serious evidence; to see their intrigue mount as they contemplated its implications," Meldrum said.

Later Redmond and Meldrum traveled to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to speak with First Nations tribal members to hear of their cultural traditions regarding the sasquatch, or wild people of the woods. They also interviewed witnesses that had recent encounters with the sasquatch and surveyed the habitat to determine whether a large rare ape could make a living and remain hidden there.

"The sasquatch is certainly a part of the native landscape - both in the natural world and in the mystical. Their oral traditions and observations of the sasquatch describe behaviors not unlike those attributed to the mountain gorilla, for example," Meldrum said.

The method for paying library fees and fines is changing

The method for paying library fees and fines is changing. On the last day of every month, library fines and fees will be sent to the ISU Banner system and will become part of BengalWeb accounts. BengalWeb accounts must be paid online or at the Cashier's Office in the Administration building. Any fine or fee incurred during the month can be still be paid at the library, but once it is sent to Banner at the end of the month, it must be paid in Banner. For more information please call the Circulation Desk at ext. 3248.

All ISU and high school students are invited to Elect Her - Idaho State University Women Win

Elect Her - Idaho State University Women Win, funded by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and Running Start, is a half-day training on Thursday, Feb. 17, that teaches college women how to run for and win student government positions.

It is a unique workshop as Elect Her is the only program in the country that encourages and trains young women to run for student government positions at their colleges. The ISU training is scheduled from 4 to 8:30 p.m. in the Pond Student Union Salmon River Suite. Check-in begins at 3:30 p.m., with the training beginning promptly at 4 p.m.

Elect Her - ISU Women Win is free and open to current ISU students, both men and women, as well as to interested Southeast Idaho high school students. ISU's Elect Her training will include dinner and a reception at the end of the evening. Advance registration is required for participation. Registration is available online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ELECT-HER-2011.

For more information about the ISU training, contact the Anderson Center at 208-282-2805.

All are invited to learn more about the medical/clinical lab science program at an open house Feb. 23

All are invited to learn more about the medical/clinical lab science program at an open house Feb. 23, 6-7 p.m. in Pocatello, Meridian and Idaho Falls locations.

Open houses will be held at the Eli M. Oboler Library, Room: B06, ISU Meridian Room 508, and in Idaho Falls, CHE 208. Program faculty and directors will be available via distance learning to answer any questions.

For additional information, contact Stefanie at 208-373-1701 or shadstef@isu.edu.

Starting Feb. 7 and continuing the entire month, the Transition Gallery at Idaho State University Pond Student Union will feature the photography exhibit "Majesty of Peru."

The gallery will feature more than 70 full-print images of the people, the land, the history and the culture of the Andean Civilization as could only be captured during a humanitarian relief mission to the greater Cuzco area.

Presented in the gallery will be photos of village life, typical Peruvian dress, the floating city of Lake Titicaca, and the Sacred Valley and the Incan ruins of Oyantatambo. The images were captured during the 2010 Idaho Condor medical and dental relief mission to Peru.

Idaho Condor is a non-profit humanitarian organization founded in Pocatello and staffed by local surgeons, dental professionals, physicians, and research professors at Idaho State University. While a local organization, Idaho Condor draws medical professionals from around the country to participate in its annual relief mission. Idaho Condor is also affiliated with the ISU student humanitarian organization that bears the same name. Last year more than 36 ISU pre-professional students joined the expedition.

As a result of the local and national effort, more than 3,000 previously unserved Peruvians received essential health care during last year's mission. In addition, several field studies in nutrition were initiated, and plans for a community greenhouse in the Andean village of Kachyarakay were arranged.

Unlike many humanitarian organizations, Idaho Condor has no paid administrators. All services, equipment, materials and medications are funded through the generous donations of companies and individuals mostly in southeastern Idaho.

This year's expedition in the Lima and the greater Cuzco area will take place March 19-29. More information can be found at idahocondor.org.

The "Season of Note" series presents Jason Farnham and Friends Valentine's Show Feb 12

The Idaho State University a "Season of Note" series will present Jason Farnham and Friends Valentine's Show at 7:30 p.m. Feb 12 in the Joseph C. and Cheryl H. Jensen Grand Concert Hall in the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center.

Farnham, a Los Angeles, Calif. native, has been called the "international entertainer of contemporary piano music." His compositions have entertained and captivated audiences from around the country. He is known as a "chameleon artist" because of his wide array of musical styles. From his romantic hit "When," to his Irish melody "Be Thou My Vision," his pieces have entertained audiences.

Accompanying Farnham for this Valentine show are guest artists Ian Dobson and Coco York. York has accompanied such big names as Lionel Richie, B.B. King, Dianne Reeves and Tanya Marie. She has also performed for former President Bill Clinton and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Dobson, a master percussionist, has performed for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Boeing, Starbucks and at many colleges and universities.

Tickets prices are $20 for main level and $16 for upper level and can be purchased at the Stephens Performing Arts Box Office, open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays during the school year. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone at (208) 282-3595, online at www.isu.edu/stephens/tickets.shtml, or at Vickers Stores in Pocatello and Idaho Falls.

Tim Goodworth's exhibit is showing at the John B. Davis Gallery

Tim Goodworth's Master of Fine Arts exhibit is showing at the John B. Davis Gallery in the Fine Arts Building.

The Exhibition will be on display Feb. 1-11. This event is free and open to the public.

The John B. Davis Gallery hours are Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. The gallery is located in the Fine Arts Building 11, on the campus of Idaho State University. For more information please contact Amy Jo Popa at ext. 3341.

Treasure Valley toddlers with significant hearing loss will be better prepared for mainstream preschool, thanks to a $1,000 grant

Treasure Valley toddlers with significant hearing loss will be better prepared for mainstream preschool, thanks to a $1,000 grant to the Toddler Early Listening and Learning Program at the Idaho State University-Meridian Health Science Center.

The program is a service provided through ISU-Meridian's Speech and Language Clinic.

The grant is from the Walter & Leona Dufresne Fund in the Idaho Community Foundation, which assists hundreds of organizations throughout Idaho in their efforts to support families and the elderly, advance the arts, and preserve the environment.

"We're very grateful for this gift," said Cally Stone, the coordinator of the Speech and Language Clinic. "It will enable us to provide scholarships for children who want to participate in our program."

The 4-week Toddler Early Listening Program-known as TELL-started in summer 2010, a service provided by the ISU Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Children from 18 to 36 months old with cochlear implants or a severe hearing impairment are eligible to participate.

TELL is enrolling students for the summer 2011 session. For more information, call the ISU Speech and Language Clinic at 208-373-1725.